


Sidekick.

by IveFallen4



Category: New Dangan Ronpa V3: Everyone's New Semester of Killing
Genre: After-Training Confessions, Confessions, Fluff, Kaito Has A LOT Of Plants, Korekiyo Is Just Vibing, M/M, Wholesome
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2021-01-21
Updated: 2021-01-21
Packaged: 2021-03-13 03:47:16
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 3,159
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/28896879
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/IveFallen4/pseuds/IveFallen4
Summary: “We walk out the cinemaAbout to go our separate ways and I...I almost wave goodbyeWhen you let your hair fall in your faceAnd I often wonder why the things that I wantAre so hard to findBut I often fail to see the things that I needAre right here by my side.”“Why don’t you stay at mine tonight?(Why don’t you stay at mine tonight?)Why don’t you stay with me and be my sidekick, sidekick?Do you, do you, do you want to be my sidekick, sidekick?”Based on the song Sidekick by WALK THE MOON.After a night of training, Shuichi stays behind in Kaito's room and confesses his feelings.
Relationships: Momota Kaito/Saihara Shuichi
Kudos: 50





	Sidekick.

**Author's Note:**

> Hey! I hope you all enjoyed this read!
> 
> I'm sorry if the ending is a tad bit shorter than hoped - I am writing this at 3:30 am because I literally have no life anymore.

“Well, that should wrap us up, right sidekick?”

Adrenaline ran heavy throughout the young detective’s veins, and he swore his heart was just about ready to burst from his chest when he heard those amazing words. Finally, it was over. Exhaustion clawed at every bit of Shuichi’s body, causing an aching throb in his upper back and shoulder muscles. God, he just wanted to go and have a nice laydown.

At least the breeze was nice - it lapped at the trees that were scattered across the courtyard in random little batches. When he first felt the sensation of wind, it struck Shuichi as... Odd. Due to the fact that there was a giant glass dome that surrounded the academy, it was safe to assume that wind would be something that was nonexistent, however, that was certainly not the case. It was never outright explained, the origins of the wind, but Shuichi had come to the deduction that there had to be some sort of fan, or another mechanism of some kind, to keep the airflow nice and steady. They didn’t need the air to become stale. 

With sweat trickling down his temples, Shuichi could feel strands of his raven-colored hair latch onto the skin of his forehead; using his sweat as a sort of glue. Olive coloured eyes slowly glancing to the side, that's when he saw his dear friend Kaito Momota... Not doing anything. Of course, this had become a common practice among their training sessions; Shuichi did the actual training while Kaito laid back and rambled about the different stars in the sky, or what each constellation visible meant. At least it was good background sound; didn’t leave them just working in silence. 

Watching the taller, and clearly more fit and muscular, man slip on his star-speckled coat, Shuichi took a moment to just breathe. After a few moments of just laying there in half of a push-up position, he pulled himself up to his feet, which only caused his legs to scream in pure pain. Having taken off his own outer-layer of clothing, Shuichi was somewhat relieved when the purple-haired astronaut trainee held the piece of clothing out towards him. “Ah..! Thank you, Kaito..” Speaking almost breathlessly, Shuichi took hold of the fabric; slipping it over his torso and giving it a light brush to remove any dirt or grass that stuck to the fabric. 

“Hey man, don’t worry about it!” Giving his signature toothy-grin and pump of the fist, Kaito waited patiently for the detective to dress. After collecting himself, Shuichi glanced up at the significantly taller man, giving a shy smile in response to the much greater one, before turning to walk away - ducking beneath the taller man’s raised arm, which resulted in him getting the hand right to the shoulder. Oh. Letting out a minuscule squeak at the feeling of the large hand that gripped his shoulder, Shuichi’s body instinctively tensed up, which caused Kaito to pull his hand back and away. It left an empty and almost cold spot on his shoulder that just felt.. unnatural. “Sorry sidekick didn’t mean to startle you like that.” An apologetic tone was pulled tightly through the astronaut’s words, and he dipped his head down slightly to look the detective right in the eye, a small frown playing on his lips.

A shy giggle left Shuichi’s lips, which was then followed by a quiet exhale, “I-It’s fine, Kaito... Really..” Words followed silence as Kaito merely nodded in acknowledgement before rising to his full posture once more - though Shuichi noted how the purple-haired man did not, in fact, leave his side as they took their peaceful walk back to the dormitory from the courtyard, which was really no less than a five-minute walk. Even from here, the slightly faded form of Korekiyo Shinguji, the Ultimate Anthropologist, could be seen beside the large panes of glass that made a wall in front of the dormitory. Over the past few sessions, the, admittedly, mysterious man had asked for permission to observe the two’s training routine. Knowing it would be plain rude to object, Shuichi allowed the man to simply stand there and watch; it wasn’t any harm to do so anyway.

With Kaito pushing open the large dormitory doors, Shuichi stepped inside, where he was greeted by the much taller, mask-wearing man, who gave a slight wave of his bandaged hand. “Hello, you two... It was splendid watching you two again, I hope I haven’t been making the pair of you uncomfortable with my ever-lingering presence..” Voice slightly muffled due to the piece of fabric that covered half of his face, Shuichi opened his mouth to respond, but was immediately cut off by, “It’s cool, dude! Watch whenever you want, we don’t mind! Well, I sure don’t!” Loud as always, and deciding things for the pair of them. The voice echoing across the dormitory, it was amazement that he didn’t shake the entire building to the ground with just how loud he was being. It was kind of endearing and just the Kaito way. A small smile brought itself onto his 

A gentle click was the indicator that Kaito’s booming voice had, in fact, managed to wake up at least one person. That person appeared to be Kirumi Tojo, the Ultimate Maid, who came strolling right out of her room; hair somehow being styled and neat. Despite this fact, she appeared exhausted and had clearly just woken up by the way she rubbed at her eyes with bawled fists. “Kaito, I don’t wish to scold you, but people are trying to sleep here.” Despite not saying she wished to scold him, the maid clearly was, if her tone of voice was anything to off by. Immediately Shuichi felt the form of Kaito tense up beside him, and a wave of apologies came sprawling out of the astronaut trainee’s mouth like a waterfall. All the while, Shuichi stared at Korekiyo, who was giving a curious glance in Kirumi’s general direction.

“Ah, Uhm... I-I’m sorry, Kirumi..” There was no reason for him to be apologizing, but Shuichi felt a need to do so anyway. Naturally, this caused Kaito to glance down at him, half-way through scratching the back of his neck, quirking an eyebrow up, “Shuichi, you don’t need to apologize. It was me that was yelling.” Having lowered his voice to appease the exhausted Kirumi, the purple-haired man gave a smile that found Shuichi smiling right back, and he heard the murmurings of Kirumi as she retired back to her sleeping quarters, instructing Kaito to control his volume one final time before closing the door behind her. All was quiet for a moment, and Shuichi hadn’t even noticed the departure of Korekiyo. It was only when he turned his head expecting to see the taller masked-man, only to be met with vacant space. “Well then. How about we go back to our rooms, eh? Oh!” Stroking the patch of facial hair that stuck out from his chin, Kaito appeared deep in thought for a moment, before turning to face Shuichi. That’s when the ‘oh!’ left his mouth, and Shuichi watched as the taller man dipped his body down slightly so that their eyes were completely level.

With a hand raised towards him, Shuichi closed his eyes but was met with the sensation of a thumb brushing against his forehead. Opening his eyes slightly, the raven-haired man was met with the sight of Kaito’s purple eyes; which were bright and filled with energy, whilst also narrowed slightly in concentration. It had only been a few times that Shuichi had gotten a close look at the taller man’s eyes, and from this angle, all close and personal, he swore he could see the universe swirling around them. This moment only lasted a moment, as Kaito brushed the loose strands of hair that had gotten stuck to Shuichi’s forehead, before pulling away. “Had some hair stuck to your forehead, sorry.” With a large, toothy-grin, Kaito turned on his heel, the soft click of his slippers against the tiled floor being heard as the astronaut trainee began to move towards his own dorm-room.

A nagging feeling began to tug right there in Shuichi’s chest as he witnessed the other man walk away. Immediately he was right on his feet, trying to ignore the light heat that had blossomed in his cheek due to the light touch. Staggering beside the taller man once Kaito stopped before his door, the purple-haired man turned his head, raising an eyebrow in slight confusion, “Shuichi? Aren’t you heading to your own room?” asking quizically, Kaito turned so his entire body was now facing the shorter detective, though his hand remained set on the door handle of his room, which had been unlocked via the key. “A-Ah... I.. I..” Trying desperately to collect his own words and form them into a tangible and coherent sentence, Shuichi stammered. Hard. Clearly amused by this, a laugh escaped the taller man's laugh. Oh, that was cute. 

“Shuichi! If you want to come in, you can just say so! Anything for my sidekick, really.” Seemingly reading the shorter man’s thoughts, which was something Shuichi was quite thankful for, the raven-haired man nodded awkwardly and watched as Kaito turned the doorknob. Stepping to the side, Shuichi was allowed entrance first, and with a quiet thanks of acknowledgment, he hastily stepped inside. Inside Kaito’s room, he was hit with the scent of plants. Houseplants filled a good quarter of the room; they were spread out and clumped together in fragments. Naturally, it was no surprise that there was a small Home Planet fitted on the nightstand beside the astronaut’s bed. It had been a gift that Shuichi himself had given the man. 

“Welcome to my dorm!” It was spoken with such pride that Shuichi couldn’t help but smile timidly. Honestly, it was cute, the way Kaito spoke. He spoke with so much compassion and passion that it was endearing. Kaito was like a dog, essentially. Yeah, that seemed the best way to describe him; an enthusiastic dog. Standing in the middle of the room, Shuichi hadn’t registered the door closing, and Kaito coming up behind him. Giving the shorter man a quizzical look, Kaito bent down slightly so that they were eye-level once more. “So, Shuichi, is there a reason you wanted to come? Or did you just want to hang with the Luminary of the Stars?” 

“Ah, well... I just wanted to hang out is all... That’s okay, r-right?”

“‘Course, man! You’re welcome to stay as long as you want!”

Like always, Kaito seemed blissfully unaware of the way that Shuichi’s face heated up and went red when he placed a hand atop his head to give the detective a light pat to the head. It was a daring move, but Shuichi reached a hand up, wrapping his fingers around Kaito’s wrist. Keeping the larger hand-planted right on his head, Shuichi looked up to eye Kaito’s reaction, who appeared to be... Smiling. “Oh, do you like this? I can... Keep going, if you want?” For once, Kaito sounded unsure. Which was unlike him. “A-Ah... Uhm... Yes..? If you want to, of course..”

In response, Shuichi felt the larger hand on top of his head begin to play with his hair; massaging the scalp and being just that little bit rough - but not in the prospect that was necessarily painful. Really it was just a reminder that Kaito was, in fact, still there. Comfort was something that radiated through each little rub of the scalp, and Shuichi found himself, admittedly, leaning right into the touches. 

After standing there, quite comfortably, for a few minutes, Shuichi had yet to realize that his eyes had closed, and now he was leaning right into Kaito’s body - head leaning into the taller man’s well-defined chest. All he could hear was the soft beating of the man’s heartbeat, along with the much gentler noises of Kaito’s breathing. It was calming, and momentarily Shuichi could feel himself dozing off. He could fall asleep like this, right here, just standing up...

That was until he felt another hand, this one clasping the side of his face. It was large and warm, and... Kaito’s. Having his head tilted up, Shuichi was basically forced to open his eyes, and was met with the face of the astronaut trainee; who was smiling and had a light pink dusting to his cheeks. “I..I... Uhm..” Thoughts running right through his mind at solid one-hundred miles per hour, he was about to speak when he was silenced by the taller man. “Shhh.. Don’t speak, alright? Just... Let’s enjoy this.” Yeah. Yeah, that could work.

Feeling the rough thumb of Kaito stroking the side of his face, Shuichi leaned his head to the side, breathing slowly right out of his nose. A warm sensation was building in his stomach - it had always really been there, ever since Kaito had decided to take Shuichi under his wing as his ‘sidekick’. It had a habit of spiked up now and again; whenever Kaito laughed or he did that cute little thing with his coat where he would just swish it around and be so amused by it like he was a child. Sure, Shuichi had felt these feelings before, with Kaede. That made him feel guilty, because even though Kaede was gone - something Shuichi hadn’t wanted to accept for some time, he had still loved her first. Was this wrong? It didn’t feel wrong... But guilt plagued his mind like a disease, yet he couldn’t bring himself to pull away.

He had run too much - he wasn’t going to run away anymore.

“K-Kaito, I... There is a reason I wanted to join you tonight..” Breaking past the lump of pure anxiety welled up in the furthest depths of Shuichi’s throat, he pushed on, reached a hand up to place it over Kaito’s own hand that still rested on his cheek. It was so small compared to the astronaut’s. “Mmm?” Simply making a noise that was just pure questioning, Kaito cocked his head to the side slightly, like he was a confused dog. Oh, here it goes. Mentally trying to line all of his words up into sentences, and then those sentences into paragraphs, Shuichi let out a quiet, shaky exhale. 

Here goes nothing.

“I... I think I... I like you, Kaito. Like, I really, really like you. I-It’s like... Whenever I think about you, I get a little bit happier, and when I’m around you I just feel so... So warm and fuzzy and I know what this is but.. B-But I’ve felt this way before, w-with Kaede, and I just feel guilty for this even though she’s gone and-and I know she’s gone but... I just..”

He was rambling. Rambling and rambling and rambling. Trying to put all his thoughts together had just been a giant mess, and now he stood there, trying desperately to confess his feelings for the other man while all he felt was guilt. Pure, pure guilt. Shuichi was surprised he hadn’t collapsed due to how much his legs were shaking, and he swore his chest was about to completely burst out of his chest when...

A pair of lips met his own. 

Oh. Oh, that felt nice. Really nice. And warm. A good silencer, really. Facial hair brushed uncomfortably against Shuichi’s skin, but he didn’t exactly mind all that much - he was more focused on the kiss that was enveloping his body. There was no tongue, just warm lips pressed against his own and even though Kaito wasn’t the best kisser, the kiss still felt so much like the astronaut. Reckless. Brash. Wild. It had been so sudden, and Kaito had seemingly just leaped right into it, which was just so him. Shuichi loved it.

Pulling away, the warmth left him as soon as it had arrived. There was still that hand that clasped his face; thumb continuing to rub small circles against his cheekbone, and when Shuichi did open his eyes - he hadn’t realized he had closed them somewhere in the kiss, he just stared at Kaito in awe. The taller man in question appeared as shocked in his own actions as Shuichi did, and his face was such a deep shade of red he looked more like a tomato than anything else. “Well, that shut you up, right?” Spoken breathlessly and followed by a short laugh, Shuichi breathed slowly, trying to regain his composure.

“Th-That was... Uhm... Amazing?” 

“Yeah, yeah I could say it was. It’s a good silencer, too.”

“I love you, Kaito... I.. I really, really do.”

“Yeah, I love ya as well, sidekick.”

“You don’t have to call me that, especially right now.”

“Right, sorry Shu!”

After their kiss, the two just... Stood there a moment. Until Shuichi was dragged right into the muscular arms of the taller man - where his coat was half draped over the detective’s shorter body and all Shuichi could see was the beautiful star-pattern of the underside of the coat. Felling his body being dragged backward, Shuichi was quick to realize he was being guided to the bed. Where indeed he was. Being basically pulled down into the bed, the raven-haired man let out a quiet squeak of surprise, though he was certainly not opposed to this position.

“You’re so cute when you make that noise, you know that right?”

“Ah... R-Really?”

Hearing Kaito makes a little ‘mhm’ of agreement, Shuichi felt his body melt slightly. Cute? He was seen as cute? Just the thought of that had Shuichi’s face heating up and he turned his body slightly; head now resting right on Kaito’s chest and legs being pulled up so that he was in a slight fetal position. Feeling a large hand swing around his side to pull him in closer, the detective allowed himself to melt entirely into the bed. “A-Are you sure it’s alright if I spend the night?”

“Of course! You can spend the night anytime!” Being spoken along with that large smile and a small bark-like laugh, Shuichi smiled. Eyelids growing heavy, all Shuichi could feel was warmth and the desperate claws of exhaustion cling to his body. Here, in Kaito’s room, in Kaito’s bed, in Kaito’s arms, he felt safe. Secure. Protected. Nothing wrong could happen here - Kaito would never hurt him. He was too nice for that, and clearly, he reciprocated Shuichi’s feelings towards him, or he wouldn’t have kissed him like that. 

“Goodnight, Shu-Shu!”

Shu-Shu?

“A-Ah! Goodnight... Uhm... Kaito..”

He clearly hadn’t thought of a nickname as of yet. Someday though. Someday he would.

With that, Shuichi allowed his eyes to close, wrapped up in warmth and the knowledge that he was safe. Sleep finally came for him, and it came easy and quick - but not before the loud snores from Kaito was able to reach Shuichi’s ears.

That was something he’d have to get used to.


End file.
